bye. >> the obama administration finally declares that the persecution of christians and other religious minorities by isis is genocide. but what took so this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> good evening, welcome to washington. i'm bret baier it is one of the most powerful words in the lexicon of international relations, genocide. today, president obama's top diplomat bow to do pressure religious groups used that word to describe isis actions against christians and others. chief legal correspondent >> shannon: none bream tells us what that means and what took >> dash is responsible for genocide against groups in

areas under its control, including you yazidis, christians and sunni muslims. >> genocide broad coalition of lawmakers have been pushing the administration to use. in the context of ongoing isis or dash violence against religious minorities in iraq and syria. today's designation by satisfies john kerry as month long at time very public push to get the administration to do something others in the international community had already done. >> sometimes there can be a paralysis of analysis, too much analysis, especially when the inter national association of genocide scholars had spoken. our own international religious freedom conference committee in state had spoken. and others, including pope francis and presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. >> just yesterday the state department indicated it would not meet today's congressionally mandated deadline for deciding whether or not to call the

tortures, kidnappings and rapes boy the group genocide. the white house couldn't explain what was taking so long. >> there is a very precise legal definition that is carefully being reviewed by lawyers at the state department. >> yet, today, the assessment was clear. >> there is no question in my mind that if dash succeeded in establishing its so-called caliphate, it would seek to destroy what remains of ethnic and religious mosaic, once thriving in the region. >> this designation is significant. it reflects the gravity of the situation there. >> the label is just step one. so now what? on wednesday, the state department set it, quote: would not necessarily result in a particular legal obligation for the united states. and the response today: >> we hope that it will help galvanize communities here at home and abroad to help us all do more to defeat this group as well as to help us continue to collect and analyze information

about their atrocities. >> there is a u.n. conventionw does trigger some obligations for parties to the agreement. but it has rarely resulted in concrete action. g.o.p. congressman jeff fortenberry who authored house resolution on genocide says is he hopeful it will allow people to resettle safely into their home lands where the diverse religious groups had once helped to provide stability, bret. >> shannon, thank you. russian president vladimir putin says it would only take a few hours for him to build up his military in syria. putin announced earlier this week he would begin a drawdown but russia intends to maintain, he said, a strong military presence in syria. the top man at the pentagon is making his strongest comments yet about iran's capture and detention of american sailors in january. the sailors were detained for 16 hours. iran then released video showing them on their knees, crying. and apologizing. defense secretary ash carter said today on capitol hill

that iran's action made him extremely angry. >> i made clear that iran's actions were outrageous, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international law. and nothing we have learned about the circumstances of this incident since then changes that fact.7 >> carter says he has made no specific recommendation on how the u.s. should respond. sergeant poe bergdahl says he walked away from his post in afghanistan to bring attention to leadership problems in the army. new documents released by bergdahl's attorneys indicate the accused deserter says he hope to raise alarm over bad decisions made by those in charge. the reports also show bergdahl has been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. a military judge is considering whether bergdahl should face court martial. french special police, first responders, and lawmakers staged a reenactment today of last year's paris terror massacre at a.x popular concert hall. 89 people were killed last

november at bataclan during a musical performance there. investigators are trying to learn more about what happened. meanwhile the manhunt continues for two suspects on tuesday during a raid by authorities. president obama's pick to sit on the u.s. supreme court today sat down with some of the democrats who support his bid. but merrick garland has not met with any republican senators. and, without him, his dreams of being on the bench will remain just dreams. >> correspondent kevin corke is at the white house tonight. >> he hardly needed an introduction. chief judge merrick quarreled on capitol hill today for infarm mall meetings with democratic senators. many of whom previously voted to confirm him and hope to do so again for the supreme court. the a day when the left called hearings and an up or down vote. >> we stand with working men and women everywhere who have to do their job. who wouldn't be able to say, you know, there is a part of my job i don't like.

i'm not going to do it for a year. >> all we are asking is for the republicans to do their job. >> indeed the garland file reads like the high court. like five current justices, garland attended harvard law. like justices roberts, thomas and ginsburg he served on the powerful d.c. circuit. and like justices alito and sotomayor is he a former prosecutor. g.o.p. leaders says it's not about the person. it's about the process. >> republicans have made our position on this vacancy very clear and that we will give the american people a voice and the opportunity this year to debate the role of the supreme court and our system of government. >> grassley is chairman of the senate judiciary committee, which is made up of 20 members. 11 republicans, 9 democrats. along with majority leader mitch mcconnell, grassley and the republican also have the final say on whether garland gets a closer look now or after the election. but, with the many unknowns until november, that could be risky say lawmakers.

>> i would have a less liberal nominee like merrick garland than a nominee that hillary clinton, if she were president, would put forward. >> their failure to do their job and give judge garland the consideration he deserves ties them to trump in a way they cannot untangle. >> but the thing is, bret, nothing will happen unless the republicans sign off on it. and to that point, at least for now, garland's bid remains a relative long shot, i think you can fairly say. while several g.o.p. lawmakers have agree to do meet with judge garland, at least right now chairman grass solid uncommittal and majority leader mcconnell says he won't do/ >> kevin corke live on the north lawn. thank you. to presidential politics now and the fuzzy math that could lead to all kinds of uproar for republicans this summer. and house speaker paul ryan today made it clear the nominee could be determined on the convention floor. >> nothing's changed than the perception that this is more likely to

become an open convention than we thought before. so, we're getting our minds around the idea that this could very well become a reality and, therefore, those of us who have involved in the convention need to respect that. >> chief washington correspondent james rosen looks at the numbers tonight. >> top analyst now project disappointment for republican party leaders hoping for a swift end to primary. >> as a famous rock band once sang "you can't always get what you want." that's what they want but they are not going to get it this year. it's probable we are going to go through june 7th. every single primary will matter. >> g.o.p. frontrunner donald trump, who leads his nearest rival texas senator ted cruz by more than 260 delegates has the greatest interest in and shot at avoiding a contested convention. >> i'm dealing with two smart, tough guys and i want to make sure i end upów winning. i would like to get to the finish line. >> even if he doesn't secure the 1237 delegates need to do clinch the nomination,

trump cites his plureltd share as the prime reason why he should get it anyway. >> if they say well, he is 50 votes short and, therefore, is he not getting it and we are going to get it to somebody who got thrown out of the primary in the second week, you're going to have a problem. >> cruz who pegged his campaign to southerners and evangelicals lost both those groups to trump is now intensifying allegations that trump's new york real estate ventures involve dealings with the mafia. >> you have seen no business interactions with members of the mob. >> every bit of that, megyn, if he is the nominee, i guarantee you, september, october, november

the florida republican is returning to the senate after coulding his presidential bid. rubio got out after failing to win his home state primary tuesday. and told reporters today spikes much the democratic side, the prospect of donald trump at the top of the g.o.p. ticket is no longer getting smirks and eye rolls from democratic leaders in the mainstream media they are getting serious about that possibility and scared, too. correspondent rich edson has that part of the story. >> where the republican establishment has failed, he may be right 'the mexicans building wall. if he is elected they would build one to keep him from going into mexico. >> two dozen liberal groups are asking for massive nonviolent mobile gation to oppose trump. they write, quote: we cannot allow this hate baiter anywhere near the white house. we will not accept the legit myization of hateful bullying and authoritarian politics. this is about more than an election. this is about the tide of history. the largest fed ter ration of labor unions in the united states the apartment fl-cio confirms it is running ads against trumps and send supporters to ohio

and pennsylvania to dissuade voters against supporting trump. >> there is a sense of urgency for the potential general election opponent of donald trump to try to destroy him or at least make him even more toxic now than after the convention. >> and more trump criticism well ahead of a republican nomination. claiming he presents a threat to american democracy, the "the washington post" editorial board argues responsible republicans should move to block trump's nomination. quote: there are some americans, democrats in particular, who are happy to watch the republican party self-destruct with mr. trump at the helm. we cannot share in their he can equipment already done grave damage to american civility at home and prestige abroad. maybe mr. trump figures he is keep blustering his way to the white house. the anti-trump coalition could grow if voters see a frontrunner who won't debate. threatens riot fess doesn't win and whose foreign policy brain trusts consists of one

brain. trump's response? he has tweeted he nor anyone else cares what the journal writes in its editorial over his refusal to debate next week trump added please explain to the dumbies at the "wall street journal" editorial board that i love to debate and have would be be -- won them all. bret? >> newly released documents reveal mostly cloudy tried to get the state department to change its rules to allow her to blackberry to handle classified information in secure fittings. the request came less than a month after clinton became secretary of state. cyber security am list reflects a contempt for the system in place to protect sensitivexxx information. fox news has learned the house select benghazi committee will interview former cia director general david petraeus for a second time in a rare saturday session. the general appeared for four hours in closed session january 6th. also tonight, a former staff member of that benghazi

panel has dropped his contention that he was fired for refusing to focus his work on hillary clinton. bradley's lawsuit no longer includes that allegation. democrats had used his bias charge to bolster argument involved in a witch-hunt against clinton. fixing blame without fixing the problem in flint michigan. democrats are pointing the finger for the water crisis at the republican governor. the governor and republicans are blaming paper-pushing bureaucrats. correspondent peter doocy shows us what went down today on capitol hill. >> democrats and republicans are furious about flint. >> this is dated in june around not a damn thing was done. >> ironic michigan's slogan was pure michigan because that was not the case. >> both sides are split about who bears responsibility for allowing lead poisoned water to flow into homes and schools and

businesses so long. democrats say it's governor rick snyder's fault. >> plausible didn't only works when it's plausible. i'm not buying that you didn't know about any of this until october 2015 you were not in ad4n; medically induced coma for a year. [ laughter ] >> republicans are blaming the federal regulators at the e.p.a. telling administrator gina mccarthy to resign. >> you need to take responsibility because you screwed up and you messed up 100,000 people's lives. 100,000 of them. 10,000 of those people are 6 years old and younger. and you take no responsibility. >> those 100,000 lives are just in flint. there are 6 million people spread across all 50 states getting water with unsafe lead levels from 2,000 contaminated water systems. that's according to a blockbuster "u.s.a. today" network investigation. among the biggest problem areas 353 schools and day care centers in 42 states with dangerous lead levels in either the water

fountains students drink from or faucets and cafeterias where their lunches are made. states with like that maine, pennsylvania and new jersey and one think upstate new york school had water toxic enough to officially be designated hazardous waste. >> there are millions of homes that are served by what are called lead service lines. lead pipes connecting your individual house to the water main out in the street. one expert says it's the equivalent of having your water delivered through a pure lead straw. >> trump bling new numbers may rise since the only schools and day care centers that have to test for lead are the 10% that have their own water systems. >> those pipes can leach led into the water. that's the source of the problem. the long term fix we have to replace those pipes. there are millions of them, peter, nationwide. >> now that every lawmaker here has a lead problem in their state. some are being asked what's being done to keep their constituents safe? and e.p.a. administrator

gina mccarthy said that requiring facilities to publicly post lead test results is a good place to start. bret? >> peter doocy live on capitol hill with a story we will continue to follow. peter, thank you. up next, big worries over a new scenario for the big one in california. we'll explain. first here's what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 35 in orlando as sea world says it will immediately stop breeding killer what whales and phase thm out of its theme parks. this comes after years of controversy about the use of the orcas. fox 32 in chicago white sox player adam la roche says he will quit his 13-million-dollar job after being told his 14-year-old son cannot come to work with him every day. the white sox president says he wants the team to focus on winning. and this is a live look at san diego from our affiliate fox 5, sunny day there. one of the big stories there tonight. a german shepherd puppy thought to be lost at sea is

found. luna was on a fishing boat when she fell overboard nearly five weeks ago but she was spotted by navy staff near a landing field on saint clementi island and soon be reunited with her family. live outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back.

the dutchman accused of killing american high school student natalee holloway in 2005 appears to make a confession on video released by the national enquirer. joran van der sloot spoke to his wife and undercover reporter from a prison in peru. >> i think that was one of the worst police investigations that ever took place. >> you're talking about the holloway case? >> yes, yes, yes, yes. this is also where i am guilty and i accept everything that i have done. >> the story appears in the national enquirer. van der sloot's lawyer calls the tape a fabrication and a lie. normally coming together is seen as a good thing. positive way to move forward. in california tonight, the prospect of two faults coming together as millions of people facing new

concerns about an old problem. correspondent william la jeunesse explains from los angeles. >> oh my god. >> san andreas the movie depicts the big one. he isn't the rock but he shows what happens in hollywood isn't always fiction. >> thereuut few things going on on this map. >> study of the 1812 earthquake that destroyed the mission showed that a strong quake in one fault helped trigger a much larger one in another. >> therey,huq)e a lot of things that people observed both in field gee logically or looking at historic records that seemed a little weird compared to the idea of only the san addressl andreas. showing how the faultlóy( in southern california sparked a larger quake in the san andreas fault. >> previously we thought this fault could have a magnitude 7 which is still a pretty big earthquake. now i'm showing that it

probably did interact with the san andreas and larger earthquake=ko[ñ a 7.5 tht would effect a much larger hshp @ area of southern california. >> l.a. suffered last major quake inoñ '94, sanyvcw÷ francio in '8. the earthquake center at cal tech monitors thousands a day. most are so deep no one feels them. to mitigate the next big disaster the state is developing asñ?< early warning system, giving utilities, residents,. >> run. >> even the rock a few seconds to act. >> most dismiss quake research unless it answers the critical question when and where. this study is important, if not depressing, because it suggests one earthquake can provokex? the damage. bret? >> william, thank you. the markets following in the spirit of saint patrick's day seeing green today. the dow was up 156 tougñw get into8béñ positive terrk the year. the s&p 500 gained 13 points

and the nasdaq finished ahead 11. when we come back, we bring in the panel early, breaking down where we are in the presidential races.

mostly time to still prevent a trump nomination which i think would fracture the party and be damaging toé the conservative movement. >> i have had many differences with senator cruz's tactics and the way he has behaved in the senate. but i do believe he would be a more reliable partner for israel. i think he would build the keystone pipeline. i think is he a reliable republican conservative. pick a true conservative to be on the supreme court. i doubt -- i have really doubts about mr. trump. i think mr. trump is not a republican. >> if we go to the convention and he doesn't get the nomination, i think the voters are going to be pretty frustrated. we have got to win in november. it's time to coalesce behind donald. >> florida governor rick

scott endorsing donald trump. and you hear some the others, especially lindsey graham who has turned his decision around about ted cruz as you look at the delegate count right now. here is how it stands tonight. 673 for donald trump, 411, and 143. meantime donald trump is+ essentially pointing his focus to hillary clinton trying to set up a general election fight. hillary clinton pushing back in the same way inen ad today. these are two ads. ♪ ♪ [barking] [ laughter ] >> who are you consulting with consistently so that you are ready on day one? >> i'm speaking with myself, number one, because i have a very good brain and i have said a lot of things. [ laughter ]

>> used the same format there, different take. let's bring in our panel. judge andrew napolitano, fox news judicial analyst. and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. this could be interesting, couldn't it? >> yes, very, very interesting. who knows which way it's going to go. i'm kind of surprised at rick scott. i don't know if you saw the piece with neil cavuto. neil really pressed him aggressively and professionally and;e he couldn't pry him loose at all. so the party is going in two ways. some people are saying it's time to unite behind trump. he sin evident tillable. others like senator graham senag it's not too little, it's not too late. is he going to destroy the party. we need to coalesce behind ted cruz on john kasich. i can't predict it any better than anybody else. >> lindsey graham is now raising money for ted cruz, a big change in his stance. and i think probably an indication that washington is shifting its gaze. >> i think -- now, nikki

haley also came out and said some nice things about cruz short of an endorsement. she said she wasn't endorsing him but she hoped the party coalesce behind him. also calls for unity ticket cruz and kasich should get together. i think what we are witnessing is either the dissolution or the utter transformation of the republican party, and we're not quite sure what's going to come out at the other end. there is this huge, huge schism. there are also people like rick scott for trump, sheldon adelson says it's fine with him. why not, he said, why wouldn't he support him? i think we are going to have a con tested convention. >> chuck, in the meantime the "the washington post" is reporting on this big meeting that happened to stop, trump, attendees voice frustration with the lack of cooshed nation so far and wondered allowed whether trump could bew$ halted. third party. logistically and financially difficult with few high profile politicians willing to take a political risk that such a run would

entail. instead, a block of participants argued that the best option may be working in upcoming primaries to boost cruz and prevent trump from securing a majority of delegates, a convention standoff would be the culmination of those efforts. if you look at the exitxy polls. we talked about it the other night. steve hayes brought it up. would you consider a third party if trump versus clinton, ohio, illinois, missouri, north carolina, roughly around 40, 45%. seems like a pretty long shot though. >> i think it's not going to happen. i don't think there is time. i don't think there is a way to organize. and you have got to have a candidate. dwight eisenhower were out there, i think you could do it, but he is not. and in the absence of that, this is a pipe dream. the other thing about having another meeting, i have been reading about the meeting. establishment now for six months to stop trump. this is the worst kept secret of a conspiracy in the history of conspiracies. they should have broadcast openly so you get these

weird reports about it. look, it is not -- people are acting as if there are people who believe that the party will be damaged bya a trump nomination. people believe trump will lose and lose badly, that it will be a repeat of gold water. there is something illegitimate about trying to figure out a way to put together a coalition, a majority of delegates who would go otherwise. it's perfectly legitimate. this is how conventions, nominees have been decided for 150 years, the reason we haven't seen it is because in this generation people have entered the convention with a majority. but in 1976, the sainted ronald reagan went into a convention without a plurality of votes, tried to get enough swing delegates to make him the nominee, failed. he wasn't called a traitor, and it wasn't called a conspiracy. that's the way the nominations are done.

>> but, judge, you look at the democrats and their reaction to donald trump, and it appears that some of them are getting a little scared about the prospect of facing trump. >> yes, i agree with you. they laughed at him, they mocked him. they rolled their eyes. now i guess they are doing opposition research. they expect it to be him. and i think they're worried. tell you the trump theory that for every moderate republican that can't bring him or herself to vote for donald trump, donald trump will pry loose, pry loose regular, steady blue collar democrats who have almost always voted for the democrat. that is hillary's fear. >> places like pennsylvania and west virginia and ohio and michigan. >> michigan. this is the theory of the ,!3eáu blue states red because he would get such a big turnout of white, blue collar voters in those states, either get voters that have never voted for or pried them away from the democrats. he have an equal opposite

reaction or maybe greater than equal where he will energize college-educated is suburban women and newly registered hispanics. we know hispanic registration is going up because of trump. so we don't know if that's actually possible. also, the percentage of white blue collar voters in the electorate has been shrinking. also, they have historically terrible, very low turnout rates. he would have to perform something that has never happened before.:qá"tirñ althout the turnout rate so far in the republican primaries, it is exponentially higher. >> no doubt about that there is a big debate whether or not that is a predictor of general election turnout. >> charles? >> i think that's right. there is no question on paper you would argue that trump would be a big loser. but, none the less, he has demonstrated the ability to bring out people who aren't regular voters, aren't regular republicans. and he could alter the map. i think democrats who thought six months ago that he was a joke, i thought he was a joke as a nominee for the republican party, and a lot of people thought as

well, we were all wrong. so he has the capacity to appeal. so, we have no way of knowing, but i do think democrats are beginning to think that there this is not a slam dunk. this guy doesn't play by the rules. he makes them up and under a new set of rules she could lose to him. >> we saw the evolution of your candidate casino. we know -- >> -- i lost a lot of money in the casino. however, i made it back by never putting a penny on bernie sanders. so i came out even. >> there you go. >> what a smart guy. >> we will discuss more on the 2016 election after this quick break. íú

as we look live at the white house saint patrick's day fountain there in green. "new york times" reporting that president obama told a group of democratic donors last friday that bernie sanders is nearing the point

where his campaign against hillary clinton will come to an end and that the party must soon come together to back her. the white house saying that those are not exactly the comments verbatim, but the general feeling here. this as missouri has essentially been called because bernie sanders told the associated press that he didn't want to have the taxpayers in missouri pay for a recount and there you see the numbers. it was very close. only about 1,000 separating. less than 1,000 votes, but hillary clinton with the big win. worry back with the panel. okay, judge, the democratic race? >> i think that hillary clinton's biggest whoa is is the justice department. i believe that the fbi isvj nearing a conclusion on the -- its accumulation of evidence. it has the evidence, it's corroborating and recorroborating the evidence. and recommend to the superiors in the justice department that it be present to do a grand jury. what happens there, nobody knows. if the evidence is not present to do a grand jury,

i think you will see that evidence along with fbi commentary on it all over the place and that will be devastating to mrs. clinton. >> and the doj internally will kind of break apart? i mean, people will have a problem. >> i think people will resign because there is such a serious effort -- remember, there are two investigations of her, one public corruption and the other the email scandal voluming hundreds of fbi agents. i can't see them sitting on their hands if that work is tossed in the trash can because the president wants her to succeed. >> there is such a disconnect here, marah. if the president is saying the democratic party has to rally around hillary clinton and stop this race to private donors, and, yet, the doj separately is on, there is a collision course that's going to happen. there is a collision course. i think -- yank of which yank of which is yang

can't think of what is worse for hillary. i can't figure out which is worse for her politically. >> you? >> i think either way she is going to be devastated. it must mean that the president either has information if he wants everybody to go for hillary, and he has all this hanging over her, he must either have information or a really strong intuition that this will not happen. she will not be damaged because, otherwise, there is a huge explosion. he seems to be pushing for her. if she is undermined by his own doj, what's left? and i think that would be an opening for biden, but, surely that's not in the back of the president's mind. >> quickly, the administration also today making the officialxç designation that isiss is committing genocide. >> finally. it will will have zero effect on the ground. we shunned delude ourselves. this is only the second time

we have had such designation for ongoing war the first was in darfur 12 years ago it had zero effect. indictments issued for the president of sudan in power. even a travel ban has been violated. this had not do a thing except make us feel good. the only thing it can do, it might create a special category for christians and yazidis to be allowed status, more automatic immigration status and that would be a good thing. apart from that, it will have zero effect. the only thing that's going tojñ make any difference is conducting war against isis. >> next up, are republicans already backing down over the supreme court nominee?

test

clear and that we will give the american people a voice and the opportunity this year to debate the role of the supreme court and our system of government. >> mcconnell leading his troops, he over the cliff, and they are going to roux the day they follow him over the cliff. >> this is about the hearing or not hearing of the

supreme courteq nominee merrické senator reid tweeting yesterday: republicans are backing down so quickly that they are already bargaining about what month they will fully cave and confirm obama's nominee. this is not what the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is saying. he is saying republicans are holding the line. however, there are republicans, nine of them, actually, senators who are on the record saying they plan to or are open to meeting with supreme court nomineemaker garland. meeting with you about no hearing and no up and down vote. judge? >> it is an unusual posture that the republicans are taking. and of course joe biden is furious when they call it the by den rule. my view is the president himselfs to not want judge garland confirmed. and that thisx0 is a political instrument by which the president can torment the republicans in the senate in the hope that whoever succeeds him as president has a democratic senate. i say that because judge

garland, whom i know, is the most conservative nominee to the supreme court by a,ú÷3ñ democratic president since fdr nominated his attorney general in 1941. this is not obama's thinking. this is not obama's legacy. >> let's just play this out. let's say the republicans lose the presidential election to hillary clinton. in a lame duck session do then republicans say let's move merrick garland now. let's push him now. >> that would be the utmost of hypocrisy. they just said the people have to decide. the next president gets to choose. >> i know. >> it would be really something. there are republicans who have thought gee maybe this is the best we can especially if we are not going to have a democratic president next time. what if they lose the senate? >> so, would democrats then, in a lame duck session, i'm playing this out, then filibuster merrick garland? >> i think the president would withdraw the nomination. >> he would withdraw the nomination. >> hillary can fill it in for months. >> who knows. but the thinnest ice that

they'renñ on -- >> -- biden. >> from your earlier comment. >> the thinnest ice they are on is they are not meeting with them. that's why -- they are not even give the courtesy of meeting with him. they have the votes. that's their right to vote no. this whole stonewalling won't talk to the guy is a problem for some of those senators. >> you say it's not a problem. >> it can be a problem for some senators. that's why i understand some republicans will meet with him as a courtesy as a matter of show. you want to show that you are reasonable. but the fact is republicans are not going to cave on this. and they are absolutely right to stonewall. it is the by den rule. this is a festival of hypocrisy. and you are absolutely right, marah, that if the morning after the election mcconnell calls hearings so he can accept this nominee, which is what i would advocate. i would start at 7:00 a.m. the morning after if the democrats win for sure. of course it would be

hypocrisy. this is a festival of hypocrisy. the whole idea?uk with the guy you want. and then if the president were to withdraw it, it would be hypocrisysquared. i mean, you could dance to this for a year. but nobody cares. everybody understands that the democrats are doing this as a way to make a political point. and i would agree. if you are going to democratic president to succeed obama, i would take this guy in a flash. >> i want to say a word about the rule. the rule that decides whether or not a vote for him comes to the floor. under a rule change made when harry reid was the majority leader, it's the majority leader, not the majority. the majority leader who controls the agenda. mitch mcconnell may be resisting a tide from his own people, it's his decision and his decision alone to permit or to deny the vote on judge garland. >> but democrats are going to use this as a hammer. >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. they are going to say republicans are holding out for donald trump's nominee

or whatever they will say about them. activists on both sides care about this. we don't know yet whether large masses of voters will. >> he may be the most conservative nominee by a democrat in a long time, but there is no question that on all the crucial issues, that have been decided by the scalia majority, 5 to 4, he would be on the liberal side and the conservatives would lose. that's the argument against him if you are a conservative. >> that is it for the panel. but stay tuned. who does america think would make a great supreme court nominee? you won't believe some of the answers.

finally tonight, one late night show wanted to go t president obama's supreme court nominee. starsers4 and rock apparently are okay. >> this morning, president obama announced his nominee for supreme court justice. how do you think whitey

bulger will do as a supreme court justice. >> i hope he can make it. i just know. i know the republicans are going to attack him. i have seen morning. >> do you think sammy hag garr is a good choice for supreme court justice. >> i feel that the motions that he is for and a lot of things that he wants to change, i think he would be a good candidate. a good candidate. >> do you thinú6 effect on his ability to get confirmed by the senate or it will be okay? >> it will be okay. we all do wrong. [ laughtermpkq ] >> whitey bulger and sammy hagar. there you go. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that is it forn fair, balanced and unafraid. greta goes "on the record" right now. ♪ ♪ >> it is friday march 18th. we begin with a fox news alert. planning a ms. kerr. targeting our men in blue, the kill list just released with dozens of officer's names on it.

>> republican frontrunner and his son eric threatening. >> the two coaches stealing the show from the side lines. >> "fox & friends first" starts right now. >> good morning. you are watching "fox & friends first". i am heather nauert. >> thank god it's friday. thank you for being with us. thank you for starting your day with us. we begin with this. isis. we start with this fox news alert. dozens of police officers targeted in an isis kill list. >> hackers release the names addresses and phone numbers of three dozen officers in minnesota. encrypted messages app posted by the group called the caliphate

cyber army. it includes the message, wanted to be killed. the fbi taking that threat seriously and tracking down the attackers. breaking overnight, eric trump targeted. the son of gop frontrunner donald trump mail add mysterious letter with white powder. police are trying to determine what it is and who sent it. that threat just hours after donald trump was targeted. the hacker group anonymous posted his social security number and phone number on-line. they are calling on followers to use that information to harass the presidential candidate and keep him from winning the republican nomination. >> the baltimore ravens quarterback clay walker in critical condition after a motor bike accident. police say before 8:00 p.m. walker was riding a